A GUIDE FOR PEOPLE WITH POLIO OR POST POLIO SYNDROME (PPS) Introduction “Oh, I wish I’d looked after me teeth”, wrote Pam Ayres in her famous poem. Good oral health and hygiene are not just about being able to smile with confidence and eat well – they are important for your general health and well being, becoming even more so …
Shared peer advice from polio survivors about what works for them.
Share your solution:
News about people who have made significant contributions to the disability community.
Share your story:
Swallowing Difficulty and the Late Effects of Polio
Barbara C. Sonies, PhD, CCC, BRS-S, College Park, Maryland A major polio epidemic in the mid-20th century left many survivors with a wide variety of physical limitations including problems swallowing foods. Many persons with swallowing problems also had original bulbar signs of polio including difficulty breathing, clearing the throat, speaking and singing. Some persons however, had no overt signs of …
Losing Speech
“Promoting Positive Solutions,” Post-Polio Health, Volume 29, Number 2, Spring 2013 Question: I am a 62-year-old happily married mother of two. I have a history of bulbar polio and have started speech therapy for new swallowing difficulties and problems with vocal endurance. Thus far, I have been able to adjust to every change brought on by post-polio syndrome, but this new change …
Anesthesia Specifics for PPS
Selma Calmes, MD, (ret) anesthesiologist 1. Post-polio patients are nearly always very sensitive to sedative meds, and emergence can be prolonged. This is probably due to central neuronal changes, especially in the Reticular Activating System, from the original disease. 2. Non-depolarizing muscle relaxants cause a greater degree of block for a longer period of time in post-polio patients. The current …